The Roommates Redundance
by platypus-quacks-too
Summary: When apartment 4B results temporary uninhabitable, Amy and Sheldon ask Penny and Leonard for hospitality. Between harping sessions and nocturnal suspicious sounds, the cohabitation soon becomes tricky... Canon up to season 10.
1. Chapter 1

"Dinner's ready!"

Leaving the couch, Penny smiled back to her husband as he proudly showed her the casserole filled with chicken and potatoes.

"It looks yummy," she observed, taking her place at the kitchen's island. "And lot of it. Are you sure we're eating all this?"

Leonard served her and smirked. "No? You look pretty hungry." Penny jokingly frowned at him. "In my defense, I used Raj's recipe and apparently _he_ thought we need to gain a little weight. And you know, I'm kinda used to preparing for three," he finally explained.

"Ah, that's a hard habit to break," Penny commented. "It's still a bit strange to be just the two of us, isn't it?"

Leonard nodded. "Yeah, it is. But this doesn't mean I don't like being only with my wife."

"And I like being with my husband," Penny echoed him, pouring wine for them both. She then raised her glass and asked for a toast. "To us, finally living on our own!"

"To us!"

They both drank a sip of their wine and returned their attention to the food. It took little to no time for Penny to realize there was a sparkle of sadness in her husband's eyes.

"Do you miss them? Seriously?" She exclaimed.

Leonard tried his best to not look too guilty. "Well, they are my friends from many years, and Sheldon… we have been in here together, like, forever."

Penny sighed. "I know that," She tried to sound less harsh now. After all, she missed their roommates just like Leonard. Okay, maybe a little bit less - no one really could miss a schedule over bowel movements.

"Good. It's just a little hard to get used… sometimes I even hear Sheldon calling me."

 _Knock knock knock. Leonard and Penny._

Penny chuckled. "Yeah. I sometimes hear him too."

 _Knock knock knock. Leonard and Penny._

Suddenly, both felt a shiver down their spine.

 _Knock knock knock. Leonard and Penny._

"We are both having auditory hallucinations, or he's calling for us right now," Leonard whispered.

"Please guys, let us in!" They heard Amy begging them. Her tone somehow scared them, so Penny promptly went to open the door.

"What…!"

Amy and Sheldon were standing in the doorway, soaking wet. Amy let a shy smile, uselessly trying to dry her face with one of her cardigan sleeves. Sheldon had folded his arms and showed an annoyed pout.

"We had some _minor_ inconvenience with the plumbing in our apartment," Amy said.

Sheldon nodded, and added. "We may need to sleep here tonight."

ii.

"Here's your tea," Penny smiled to Amy, handing her the large mug filled with some hot Earl Grey.

As her friend muttered a thank you and drank the first sip, she couldn't help but take another look to Amy's unusual outfit. Penny was ready to swear that was the first time ever she saw Amy without a skirt. Or maybe the second? Sure, not more than that. Over the overlong sweatpants she had borrowed from her, she wore one of Leonard's Hufflepuff t-shirts (whose choice on the part of Amy had made Sheldon's eyes sparkling with pride).

Providing Amy dry clothes had been relatively easy. Much less it has been with Sheldon, as he was definitely too tall and picky to be able to find something for him quickly. In the end, they had settled on a The Empire Strikes Back themed tee over what on him looked like capri pants. Sheldon unenthusiastically had given in to those, after having observed how Leonard was so much wider on the waist than him. Leonard hadn't dared to protest however, already feeling guilty for that extra portion of chicken he definitely planned to have.

"I hope Sheldon and Leonard will manage to retrieve at least some of our things," Amy observed worried, "There was such a mess in there."

"I can imagine. What happened exactly?"

Amy shook her head. "We just had dinner, when suddenly we heard a thud from the bedroom. There was just a thin trickle leaking from the one of the pipes over the dresser. A moment later, a waterfall was on us," She took another sip of tea and sighed. "There was water everywhere."

"Um, is it me, or does this latter line sound awfully familiar?"

"Please, not you too," Amy snorted. "I had enough from Sheldon reminding me what kind of _pipe jinx_ apparently I am."

Penny tried to cover the smirk the definition has elicited. Amy glared at her, forcing Penny to lower her stare and apologize.

"Please, open up."

Leonard's voice came to the rescue from the stairwell. Penny hurried to the door, letting the guys enter the apartment with their load of saved belongings. Much to Amy dismay, it consisted of only her suitcase, a couple of carryalls, and a few bags.

"Well, apparently the Great Flood actually happened in our apartment," Sheldon announced. "Turn out my mother maybe wasn't completely wrong about deities punishments."

"Sheldon is being overdramatic," Leonard corrected him. "But yeah, there's a pretty big mess in there."

Amy reached them and lowered to examine the bags now neglected on the floor. "What have you managed to retrieve?" She asked.

"The biggest leak was above the drawer," Sheldon reminded her. "So everything that was in there is gone. The water also reached the lower levels of the closet, and-"

"That's all the underwear you got?" Amy interrupted him, looking at the contents of the bag she opened. "Is there at least a nightgown somewhere?" She begged.

Penny put her arm on Amy's shoulders and squeezed her. "Don't worry Ames, we're going shopping tomorrow!" In her mind, she already had taken note to not let Amy buy new clothes on her own as she did after her apartment's flood. She then looked at Sheldon, "As for you, I'm sure a truck is already on it's way from the Walmart in Houston."

"Shall we bring those to your old room?" Leonard asked. Sheldon nodded back, and the two left.

Pretty much discouraged, Amy fell on the middle of the couch, letting a long, annoyed sigh. Penny sat next to her, hugging her friend again.

"Don't worry, everything is gonna be fixed," she reassured Amy. "And anyway, try to look on the bright side."

Amy raised her stare on her. "Penny, I'm not in the mood for any further put-down over the way I dress."

"That's not it. How do you feel about the fact you are finally going to share Sheldon's bed with him?"

iii.

Closing the door behind him, Sheldon turned and gave himself a few moments to look around. The room was exactly how he had left it, yet it wasn't the same. The furniture hadn't been moved or changed, but the bed had a different comforter, long silk curtains hung over the window, and all the walls were left blank. As a further source of nuisance, the remainder of their closet was piled in a corner.

He saw Amy sitting on the edge of the bed. She was looking around as well, unsure of what to say or do. He caught the doubt in her stare and sat next to her.

"Something's wrong?" He gently asked.

Amy turned, surprised by his question. "N- no. I was just thinking of our apartment," she lied.

"Really? I thought you were an expert on domestic flooding."

Amy sighed. "It's not that, and please stop it."

Sheldon lowered his eyes, guilty. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," Amy stared at him. "and all the other things over your existent or not connection with domestic flooding."

A small smile popped on her lips. "I guess that's the most of apologies I'll get for tonight."

"Were you worried because of this?"

Amy shook her head. "Honestly, it's a silly thing… really."

"Tell me. Silly things are certainly included in the list of things a committed couple can share with one another."

Amy smiled again, and this time her face was brighter. "It's just… Penny pointed out to me that tonight will be the first time, you know, that I'm going to share _this_ bed with you. It's kinda of odd, isn't it?" She finally admitted as her cheeks slightly blushed.

Sheldon… hadn't thought of that. Was it a problem for him? He couldn't tell. Sharing _his_ bed with someone hadn't been an option for him for many years. It had barely become one when they had moved in together.

He decided to play it cool. "Why does this worry you? We have been sleeping together for months already. It's not any different in here," he dismissed her.

Amy sighed in relief. He was right. Why should tonight be any different? They were used to sleeping in the same bed (and _not sleeping_ as well).

"Good to hear this," Amy commented. Then, she suddenly realized there was another thing to discuss. "By the way, what are we going to wear to sleep? I remind you that the entirety of our night clothing is gone."

Sheldon stood up. "Usually if I have any pajama inconvenience, I simply don't sleep with the missing part for that night," he checked himself. "Considering I lack both parts, I guess I'll sleep in my underwear only."

Amy bit her bottom lip. His undershirt wasn't dry yet when they had checked, and this meant he would sleep just in his briefs. Definitely a nice premise for the night to come.

"I don't know what is your policy though," he continued. Thinking of her standard nightgowns, he could barely imagine her sleeping without any clothes when not involved in coital activities. Not that he wouldn't have minded… "Would you like to check if you have something suitable in the bags?"

Amy shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I could sleep with this tee. It's actually pretty comfortable." The perks of wearing a men's shirt probably. It wore baggy and long. Moreover, it was soft, and it matched what apparently was her Hogwarts house.

"Don't be silly," Sheldon scolded her. "You can't sleep in that. An item of clothing is either for the outside, for the inside, or for bed. One can eventually wear something that has been outside in one's home, but never in bed. Who knows where Leonard brought that shirt."

"Okay. Then what?" Her eyes went to the pile of bags. She really didn't want to check in there looking for something. She stood up too, and took off the Hufflepuff shirt. "I guess I'll stay in my underwear too."

"Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded, and let down the sweatpants. "I'm too tired to look for something."

The finished undressing, and each folded their own clothes. Once they were done, they both remained standing near the bed, facing each other. Sheldon's gaze induced for a moment on her. Although they engaged in coitus more often now, it was rare for him to admire her in such a way. Amy instinctively lowered her stare, partly flattened by the look in his eyes, partly worried she would have lingered too much on the bottom half of his body.

Eventually, he asked which side she would prefer. She let him choose, and went under the covers - Sheldon on the window's side, Amy on the other.

"It's odd for me too."

Amy looked at him puzzled. "What?"

"I lied before. It's kind of odd for me too, sleeping with you in here."

Sheldon himself didn't know why he suddenly had admitted it. He guessed he just couldn't keep a lie with her.

"Does this bother you?"

Sheldon remained silent for a moment. "No," he finally said. It definitely didn't bother him. She was his companion and fiancée. There wasn't anyone on this earth he could have shared a bed with. That room thought…

"This isn't my room anymore." The realization struck him in an instant.

"Does this make you sad?"

"A bit."

Sheldon immediately noticed the gloomy shadow dropping in her eyes. "No!" He turned to her, and rested his hand on hers. "You know I'm not a fan of change. But this time… it has been for the best. You know I love living with you. I wouldn't marry you otherwise." Instinctively, his fingers caressed the precious ring she wore.

Amy nodded, and soon he felt her warm breath on his shoulder. She was now resting her head there, and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"C'mon, we better sleep now. It has been an eventful evening," he suggested, and leaned in to kiss her.

"Goodnight," she muttered back.

They detached, and he turned off the light. He then proceeded to lean and adjust the covers over, when he realized that Amy was looking at him from the top down. Pinned on her right arm on her side, she now showed a suspicious smirk.

"Yes?"

"I know you just said this isn't your room anymore. Still… there was something I've always dreamed to do in here." As she talked, Sheldon clearly felt a pleasant touch up his leg. Did she want to…? No, it really had been a devastating day. Then why was he now sure her hand had reached the hem of his briefs.

"Amy!"

She understood he had caught her request and brought out her best begging face. He breathed heavily, as her hand didn't seem to leave his briefs.

"Amy… as much as I don't dislike what you are offering… you do remember we are not alone, right?" He looked up in the direction of the wall, and the room beyond.

"So what? You always complained about what _you_ were forced to hear. It's only right if you repay them."

Sheldon closed his eyes and sighed again. She wasn't wrong at all. In the past years, he had heard unspeakable things.

He reopened his eyes, and couldn't help but wonder who had lowered that strap of her bra, Amy or a benevolent accident... He rushed to her mouth now, his hand grabbing her head to put her closer.

"Wait." Surprisingly, she broke the kiss. "Have you-"

"Condoms? I sneaked out the box from my nightstand when Leonard wasn't looking." Amy looked at him in amazement. "You know I like to be prepared just in case…"

As he rolled her on her back, they both grinned, and hungrily reprised where they had left off.

iv.

 _Thud. Squeak. Thud. Squeak. Thud. Squeak._

"Leonard…" Penny sleepily called. "What the hell is he doing?"

Leonard was motionless on his back, unable to get any rest. "Honey, he's with Amy, do you remember?"

 _Thud. Squeak. Thud. Squeak. Thud. Squeak._

"Yeah, whatever… make them stop." Penny grumbled again.

"Penny.. he is with Amy," Leonard repeated, hoping his wife could catch the point. She evidently didn't, since she hit him on his chest and repeated her mantra, "Make them stop."

"Ok, how can I put it…Penny, Sheldon's bed lost its virginity."

Her eyes went wide.


	2. Chapter 2

" _Sweet Caroline… Good times never seemed so good._ "

The song lyrics echoed in the kitchen, as Amy joyfully moved her lips following her tune.

" _So good!_ " She continued, dipping the bread into batter and moving it to the frying pan. " _So good!_ " She sang again, twirling back to the counter.

Only less than twelve hours had passed since she and Sheldon had to run away from their waterlogged apartment, but it already felt so far away. Amy smirked recalling the very enjoyable awakening of that morning: lost in Sheldon's embrace, their naked bodies intertwined into the sheets, in a bed she had barely hoped to sleep in. Even more surprisingly, he was still sound asleep when she had tried to wake him up with her kisses. So she had slipped from his hold, retrieved a pair of underpants to wear under Leonard's Hufflepuff t-shirt (she totally planned to steal it or ask for it as a present) and snuck off barefoot to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

"Something smells good! Are those French toasts, P- Oooh. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

As soon as he entered the room, Leonard immediately turned his back to her, while Amy remained paralyzed on her spot.

"I- I didn't think you would have woken up so early," she stammered. Instinctively, her hands tried to pull down the hem of the tee in an attempt to cover as much of her exposed legs as possible. She also mentally cursed herself for having decided to exit the room undressed like that.

"Uhm, yeah. It smelled good and I woke up," Leonard admitted. "Could - could this help?"

Never turning around, he had moved toward the drawers and opened one, pulling out an apron he was now blindly handing to Amy.

Amy happily reached for it and rushed to wear it. Thankfully it was long enough to cover her down to her knees. "Thank you," she said. "It's on. You can turn now, if you want."

"Batman. It suits you," He observed, finally looking at her. Amy lowered her stare, and noticed the bat symbol. "Oh. Thank you?"

"So…" Leonard tentatively began to break the awkward silence that had followed, "How's Sheldon not up yet? Doctor Who should have started in a while," he asked.

Not daring to look at him again, Amy slowly returned to the stove to continue with the toasts. "I persuaded him to give more credit to the DVR," she explained, stopping just in time before admitting how now Saturday awakenings were reserved to cuddling.

"Another thing you succeed at where I failed," Leonard congratulated with a smile. "Have you also managed to change his breakfast schedule?" He asked then, hinting at the French toasts.

"Oh no. He will take his milk and cereal later. According to our Relationship Agreement, we take an extra serving of French toasts or scrambled eggs if we have coitu-" She stopped talking straightaway, but it was too late.

"Uhm," Leonard jabbered, not sure how to address that information. He just briefly shivered at the realization that he had heard enough to not be surprised of Sheldon's will of gaining additional energy in the morning.

"Good morning everyone!"

Sheldon's cheerful greeting was welcomed by both Leonard and Amy with a sigh of relief. He joined them in the kitchen and approached Amy to peck her on the lips. Penny showed up a few moments later, muttering a much less enthusiastic "Morning," and sleepily kissing her husband. Her look brightened a little though when she noticed the toasts. "Oh, nice. How's that?"

Amy glanced at Leonard. "Please, don't ask," he told his wife. She looked back at him confused, and so did Sheldon. Eventually Penny decided not to investigate further, and getting to the coffee maker she spoke to their guests. "So, did you sleep well?"

"Wonderfully!" Sheldon exclaimed.

Penny raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Really?" She asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah. Why shouldn't I?"

Leonard went to get some coffee for himself as well. He took a sip of it, trying to figure out if he really wanted the discussion to go there. He decided for it, considering that things couldn't possibly be more awkward than how they already have been.

"There was a little, uhm, _noise_ last night," Leonard suggested. "Penny and I did have some trouble getting to sleep."

Sheldon turned to Amy, hoping she could give him some hints. Instead, he saw she was blushing and nervously getting her attention to the toasts in the pan. He looked back at Leonard and Penny, "That's odd," he said, "I haven't heard anything. We truly had a very nice sleep."

" _Sleep_?!" Penny replied. "Do you two really sleep? When?"

Sheldon was more and more perplexed. He looked again to Amy, who sighed in disbelief of her fiancé's lack of understanding. "Sheldon - they _heard_ us."

"Uh? What do you mean?"

Amy turned off the stove and picked the now-ready toasts. She then took a deep breath and hoped not to faint for the shame. "Sheldon, they heard us having sex."

"Oh… Oh!" Sheldon finally got it, but then another doubt hit him. "Then why do you seem uncomfortable?" He asked her. "Wasn't this the plan?"

"Plan?" Leonard snapped. "You did it on _purpose_?!"

"Not really," Sheldon calmly responded. "I told Amy it wasn't a good idea, but then she reminded me how you forced me to hear your coital activities every so often in the past, so I agreed to proceed."

Penny and Leonard both threw incredulous gazes to Amy, whose face had already assumed a deep reddish shade. "I... I… I didn't think we would have been so loud," she tried to defend herself, "I'm so very sorry," she apologized.

She and Sheldon exchanged a quick look. She nodded in the direction of Leonard and Penny, frowning in a clear invitation to Sheldon to apologize as well. He stared back at her, and finally replied, "I'm not going to apologize. We haven't done anything wrong, and they deserved whatever they heard."

Penny shook her head, and smiled. "I can't believe we're having this conversation… Anyway, it doesn't matter Sheldon. We're fine."

Amy took the plate with the toasts and offered it to her and Leonard. "Do you want to share?"

Penny's smile turned in a proud smirk directed to Amy. "Please, they are all yours. You'll probably need all that extra energy supply…" Then, since Amy had limited to retire the plate and blushing even harder, she came closer to her and patted her arm, "Almost an hour! You haven't told me that," she congratulated.

Leonard cleared his throat. Penny assumed he wanted to contradict her and turned skeptical to him.

"They… it lasted way more than an hour," her husband explained to her with a gulp. "You woke up after a while."

Penny froze, and almost remained open mouthed. "Uhm, I … oh, Amy," she just managed to babble. Amy picked up one toast and took a bite, actually trying to hide the satisfied grimace that had finally worked its way up from the embarrassment.

Sheldon shrugged. "Really? I always lose track of time, especially if I linger too much on Amy's bosom. Once I spent almost an hour just smooshing around those lovely breasts like pizza dough."

Amy almost choked with the toast's bite. She grabbed her coffee from Penny's hand, drank a little bit of it, and returned the cup to her. "Sheldon, maybe we should get ready."

"What? I haven't eaten yet," he protested. Amy took his hand and started to pull him toward the corridor. "We'll take something before leaving. Let's go," she insisted.

"But Amy-" Sheldon tried again, but Amy just dragged him harder. He renounced to any further protest and let her lead him back to their bedroom.

Penny and Leonard observed the scene silently. They hadn't the time to react in any way, when Sheldon came back and headed to his old desk. He collected something from a lower drawer and placed it on the kitchen island.

"I thought you may need this in the next days."

He left again, and Leonard couldn't help but roll his eyes once he realized that Sheldon had just offered them his noise-canceling headphones.

ii.

Much to Sheldon's dismay, most of the French toasts ended up being devoured by Leonard and Penny, as Amy made sure Sheldon couldn't have any further occasion of embarrassing them, at least in her presence. They hurried to meet their landlord and check the damages to their place, then spent the rest of the morning trying to collect or secure as much of their belongings they could. Their ways parted then in the afternoon, when Penny fulfilled her promise to go shopping with Amy and Leonard had reluctantly done the same with Sheldon.

Sheldon, however, was done with his purchasing much earlier than Amy, so now he and Leonard waited for their significant others lazily playing Mario Kart slumped on the couch.

"How long do you think the girls will still need to return home? I'm hungry," Sheldon asked.

Leonard shrugged. "I don't know. You may anticipate laundry while we're waiting."

"I already did it as soon as we returned. I surely wouldn't have all the shop's germs enter my bedroom."

"Oh. I missed it, sorry." He guessed Sheldon had done it when he was taking a nap, the result of the sleep deprivation he had suffered during the previous night.

"We're back!"

They both turned to see Penny and Amy entering the apartment laden with shopping bags. They paused the game and stood to help her out.

"You are wearing a dress," Sheldon immediately observed looking at Amy. She smiled at him and blushed slightly. Among the needed nightgowns, cardigans, and underwear, Penny had eventually succeeded in persuading her to expand her clothes' variety a little. Only small successes, of course, but in the end she felt satisfied with the result.

"Yes, she is," Penny confirmed. "She's so cute in it, isn't she?"

Sheldon looked at Amy better. She was wearing a light, white dress with a pinkish floral pattern with short sleeves, that extended to her knees. To his surprise, she did not wear a cardigan.

"It's not date night. Why are you wearing a dress?" He ended up saying.

Amy's smile slid away. He noticed it, and understood his mistake.

"I meant, it's odd to see you like that. I'm not saying you are not pretty," he admitted, "It suits you."

Her smile returned bigger and brighter. She turned to Penny, who returned a satisfied smile, and together they left to the bedroom to drop off the bags. On their way back, Amy offered to prepare dinner with Sheldon. The latter actually had tried to protest and begged to end his game against Leonard, but Amy needed only a few words to send him behind the stove with her.

As the two started the preparations, Leonard and Penny sat on the couch. "It seemed you had a little more success this time with Amy's wardrobe," he told his wife, careful not to be heard by their friends in the kitchen.

Penny nodded, "Yup!" She confirmed, not without some measure of pride. "I'm particularly satisfied with some of her new nightgowns…"

"Really? I thought you wanted to sleep at night…" Leonard joked.

Penny shook her head giggling, then turned to face him. "You still didn't tell me if you like my new shirt," she urged, looking down to the silky, colorful piece of clothing she was now revealing to Leonard as new.

"Of course!" He immediately answered, "So much so that I'll be more than happy to help you undress later…"

"Ooh, are you suggesting to beat our guests at their game?"

Penny leaned over and kissed him. "You can say it!"

Busy in their conversation, they didn't realize that Amy had shortly left with her phone in hand to talk to someone. She now returned to the room and asked for everyone's attention.

"That was the landlord," Amy explained. "He wanted to confirm to us that they'll need up to three weeks to fix our apartment."

"Really?!" Sheldon complained. "That's a long time. Well, good thing we are close. We can keep an eye on the progress of work."

In their minds, everyone else in the room felt sorry for the poor workers. Then Penny and Leonard exchanged a look and felt sorry for themselves as well. Amy caught their worried expressions and tried to reassure them. "You know, if we are going to stay here a little longer, maybe we could set a few ground rules, agree on some schedules…"

Sheldon dropped the knife he was using and almost jump on the spot. "Schedules!" He cried.

Amy already knew where it was heading to. "We talked about it. No bathroom schedules, Sheldon."

He pouted in response. "Fine, but what should we schedule then?"

"Forget about the schedules," Leonard said, "But I agree with the ground rules. For instance, always wear a complete outfit when in a common area." As he spoke, Amy looked away and had the sudden urge to reprise chopping some carrots.

"Oh, and no noises after ten at night," Penny continued. "And before seven in the morning."

Sheldon stared at them skeptically. "There's no need to specify that." Penny raised her eyebrows. He got that he needed to be more specific. "You are never awake that early."

"C'mon guys, we can do this," Leonard cut short.

"We promise you we'll be more careful," Amy agreed. "Right, Sheldon?"

He snorted. "Right, even if I haven't done anything wrong…"

iii.

Satisfied with the grin of someone who just had some very pleasant thirty minutes with his wife, Leonard left their bedroom and headed to the bathroom. He let out a tired yawn as he opened the door and reached for the light switch… until his hand froze as soon as he realized it was already on. "Please, no…"

"Leonard!"

As soon as he heard Sheldon's voice calling his name, he knew he was right to be afraid. He looked for the courage to raise his stare, and saw them.

"What…?" Leonard widened his eyes, not really sure of what he was looking at. A part of him just wanted to shut the door and run away, at least in respect of Amy, but the truth was that he just couldn't. Never would he have thought to find Sheldon Cooper sitting in the bathtub, his girlfriend leaning against his chest, relaxed expressions in between the soap bubbles.

Amy turned her head to Sheldon. "You said they were sleeping!" she blamed him.

"It's not my fault if Leonard has the bladder of an eighty-year old. And by the way, _you_ insisted to move up our Sunday bath to tonight."

Finally, Leonard reacted and hurried outside the bathroom. He almost slammed the door, and leaned against it. The following weeks were going to be ever so tricky, weren't they?


	3. Chapter 3

Playing the last notes of the _Little House on the Prairie_ theme song on her harp, Amy smiled and turned to Sheldon. He was sitting next to her and looked up from his comic to return his fiancée's smile.

More than a week had passed since the plumbing incident in their apartment, and thankfully things seemed to have settled a bit in the cohabitation with Leonard and Penny. Sheldon couldn't have his bathroom schedule back, but Amy had been careful not to leave their room ever again without being dressed, Leonard had learned to always knock before entering any room, and everyone had tried to be as quiet as possible at night - or at least to ignore whatever he or she could have heard.

As proof of this, now Leonard was knocking at the door to inform them that he and Penny had just returned from picking the dinner.

"Guys, dinner's here," Penny announced.

"Come in!" Amy granted them and stood to put away her harp, as their friends finally entered.

Penny looked at her husband, "See?" She whispered to him, "there's no need to knock _every_ time."

Leonard waited that they were both in the kitchen area to answer back. "Do you remember what _we_ have done on that couch? You can never tell…"

" _I_ do remember what you have done here," Sheldon exclaimed from the couch. Damn his Vulcan hearing, Leonard thought.

Amy looked confused at Sheldon, "What?"

"Aquaman," he just said.

She turned back to Leonard and Penny, both suddenly busy in retrieving cups and plates, and decided to keep for herself the doubt if Sheldon had suggested that past Sunday to _relax_ on there because of anything he could have seen through the eyes of the hidden camera she knew was inside the statue.

"Oh, before I forget," Leonard said, "Wolowitz and Raj won't join us tomorrow night."

"Why?!" Sheldon burst out in a disappointed tone. "If we are not together, our chances go down!"

"Howard caught a cold, and Raj got framed by Bert in some … party? I don't know. I'm just sure rocks are involved and I kinda feel sorry for him."

"What are you talking about?" Amy interrupted them.

"What are we talking about?" Sheldon echoed her, "Amy! I told you already three times. Star Wars!"

Amy sighed. Of course Star Trek or whatever was involved. Still, she couldn't remember what he was referring to. Sheldon realized she still hadn't a clue and finally explained, "Tomorrow night the final trailer of the next Star Wars, _The Last Jedi_ , will be released. Around the same time, pre-sales for the opening night will open."

"That's why he complained for Wolowitz and Raj; it's easier for them to coordinate if they are in the same place." Surprised, Amy turned to Penny who had just added the last chunk of information. Her eyes were saying 'How the heck do you know that?'

The blonde shrugged. "I guess you just get to learn something over the years."

The guys nodded to confirm Penny's statement. Then, as Leonard joined Sheldon on the couch with part of the needed dishes, Amy rushed to Penny with the excuse to help her with beverages.

"Did you know about this thing?" She hissed to her. "What we are gonna do now?"

"I found about it just a few minutes ago, but I think we should go on as planned anyway. We'll find a way to make it work," Penny reassured her.

In fact, the Star Wars euphoria was jeopardizing the women's plan for the following night. After a successful first execution the previous weekend, the two had soon understood how the only way to make things work was to keep the distance from time to time. They had agreed to a schedule to go out in turn with their respective partner, so that the other could have some alone time home with her own. The concept was so simple to be silly, still even so tricky to be put into action because of the two men's resilience to leave the house if not to work or the comic book store. The following night was Leonard and Penny's turn to leave, and the latter had every intention to make it so.

"Has Leonard already agreed to go?" Amy urged Penny.

"Yes, he has. Well, he tried to cancel, but then I swore to him we would be home by the time the trailer and the tickets are out," Penny recalled.

"And will you?"

"You'll see. I'll find a way to keep him distracted eventually. As for you, I don't think you'll have problems at all. Sheldon ditched Star Wars already in the past, and he still didn't know how sex was like. I can bet he will for sure now that has tried it."

Amy blushed at her friend's last observation. As she was probably right on that point, she still felt a little embarrassed discussing their sex life just like that. Which was in the end a curious thing, Penny had noted to her the first she had complained, considering how she and Sheldon didn't do that much to hide their being _active_.

They turned toward the guys, who seemed to not have noticed their conversation. On the way back, Leonard had found some Star Wars PEZ dispensers and bought them. Now he was enthusiastically showing them to Sheldon, who on his part was trying to obtain at least the Darth Vader shaped one.

Still looking at them, Amy leaned to Penny. "Are you sure we are going to distract them from that?"

Sheldon and Leonard were now having Darth Vader and Luke battling, making noises with their mouth.

The two women kept staring at them, perplexed. Penny turned back to Amy, "It's too late for me, but are you absolutely sure you want to marry into this?" She joked.

ii.

Leonard frantically knocked at the door, "Sheldon! Sheldon! Sheldon!" He cried.

Penny looked at him, "Geez, you ended up knocking just like him."

Her husband ignored her remark and kept calling Sheldon. "Sheldon, open up! The trailer is out!" He shouted.

Since no one was answering, he dared to carefully open the door. He peeked inside, then turned to Penny to assure her it was possible to enter.

"Sheldon, are you home?" He asked again.

Penny followed him inside, closing the door behind them. Penny, who had alerted Amy of their arrival as soon as it had been clear they were hurrying home, tried to stop him from rushing to his bedroom.

"Leonard, why don't we sit and watch it? I'll help you to get the tickets too, once they are available."

"I'd love to, but we both know he's not gonna forgive me if I watch it without him," he reminded her.

"Okay, but what about poor Amy?" She tried then. "Do you really want to interrupt her, considering all the years she had to wait?"

Leonard frowned, "With all due respect for her long waiting, trust me, they _did_ make up for the lost time."

Without waiting for any further protests from his wife, he finally marched toward Sheldon's room. He knocked and called him, and soon the door opened.

"Hi, Leonard," Amy greeted him. Her hair was wild and mussed up, and she was trying to keep her robe tightly closed, being the only thing she was wearing. Definitely, she hadn't appreciated the interruption.

"What would you say," she continued, "if I told you where Sheldon's head was before I stood to open the door for you?"

"That I think I don't want to know the details of that," he answered back.

"Good. Bye!"

Before he could add anything, Amy had already closed the door and hurried back in the room.

Leonard didn't desist, though.

"Sheldon, the trailer is out. I'm watching it alone if you are not interested!" He announced.

He attempted a smirk when he saw the door's handle came down, but it went away right away as soon Amy reappeared in front of him.

"Wasn't I explicit enough?" She hissed. "Do I really need to get graphical in explaining it to you?"

Leonard understood he had to change the approach. "Please! With all the times your fiancé interrupted me. He once broke into my room _from the window_!"

Amy shrugged, "I'm not responsible for that," she said, but then she felt a little sorry and tried to change her strategy too.

"Leonard, please," she begged him. "You know how long it took me to mount this stallion."

Leonard remained silent for a moment, trying to think of _anything_ that wasn't Amy _riding_ anyone and especially Sheldon, then he spoke, "I think I do, but please understand this is nothing person-"

The door slammed again.

"Oh C'mon, you can't be serious!" He snapped. He moved to knock again when suddenly the door swung open and he met Amy's face a few inches from his own.

"Don't. Try. To. Knock. Again," she threatened him.

"Leonard! You wouldn't believe what I've just seen in the Star Wars trailer."

Amy turned, and Leonard looked with her same surprise to see Sheldon standing in the bedroom's doorway. Just like Amy, he only wore his robe.

"I know I said we would watch it together," he started explaining, "but I was getting bored waiting for you two ending your argument, so I peeked. By the way, what were you squabbling about?"

Amy raised both her eyebrows, and blinked aggressively, "I give up!", she announced, and just went back in the room, leaving Sheldon outside with Leonard.

"So, are we watching?", Leonard asked. Sheldon nodded enthusiastically.

iii.

"How many times do you think they have already watched it?" Penny asked, pouring more wine in Amy's glass.

"Before or after the ticket-buying crisis?"

"There's nothing sadder than a man who's afraid to lose the Star Wars premiere," Penny commented back, opening a new bag of chips.

Amy took one chip and looked back at Sheldon and Leonard, lost in the building of theories and exchange of interpretations. She drank from her glass and almost emptied it when she thought to where Sheldon's face really was when Leonard had first knocked at the door.

"You know what," Penny said, "It's not that late. We could go at Lucky Baldwins' and see what we can have with the beer."

She expected Amy to suggest another destination after the half bottle of wine they already had, but instead she nodded in agreement. "Give me some time to dress, and I'm up for it. What about making a stop at the Latin dance club after?"

Penny gaped at her in pride. "Oh, I trained you so well," she said with a content smile. "You bet. Hurry, and put on something pretty."

"And red bra?"

"That's my girl!"

Amy returned shortly after, fully dressed and ready to party. "Guys, we're going out," Penny announced them.

Finally the two men looked up to their significant others. "Where are you going?" Leonard asked.

"To a pub, then Amy wants to go dancing. Don't wait for us," Penny informed them.

"On a work night?" Sheldon complained. "I see you Penny, but Amy? I can't understand how you could do such a thing. And then, we are having already such a night here!"

Penny turned to Amy, "He surely improved a lot, but I'm afraid your stallion still needs training…" she observed, before leaving with her.

 **A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to come to a new chapter. I hope this was worth the wait, and remember: don't take any of this too seriously. It's mostly for fun and things are often exaggerated for laughs.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Good morning, Leonard!"

Smiling, Sheldon greeted his friend and temporary roommate as he entered the kitchen. Leonard didn't answer though, and silently walked toward him with a serious look. Sheldon handed him the plate with some French toasts he had just prepared, "Do you want some? You look gloomy."

Leonard stared at them. It was pancakes day, and from Amy's admission he now knew why Sheldon had made toasts as well. He sighed to avert that thought, "Sheldon, we need to talk."

Sheldon sat, and took a first bite of one toast, "Very well, what's up, _buddy_?"

Leonard ignored the afterglow cheerfulness inspired epithet, and spoke, "I met some of the men working at 4B, yesterday."

"Ohh, look at you, wanting to spend time with the common man!"

Leonard sighed again, this time in frustration, "Sheldon, I know what are you doing!" He said.

The other man looked back at him, apparently unaware of what he was talking about, "Eating my breakfast while my roommate brags about how low his social life has become?"

After a third, exasperated sigh, Leonard spoke again, "They told me you kept complaining about them with their boss."

Sheldon just kept looking at him, raising his eyebrows in anticipation. Leonard continued, "You made them repaint _four_ times."

"So, your problem is that _I_ complained and required my own apartment to be rebuilt properly?" He took another bite, shaking his head. Leonard was so odd at times, he thought. How could he even be surprised that _he_ had complained? It's not like he had even hidden the fact that he was a flawless champion in that.

"You hid their equipment!" Leonard snapped. Sheldon went to swallow his toast, and his expression finally changed.

"Well, this doesn't prove anything."

"Oh, please. Admit it, Sheldon: you are sabotaging the repairs on purpose!"

Leonard stared at him, waiting for an explanation, but his crazy friend just looked back at him with no intention to explain what the heck he was up to.

"Sorry! Don't mind me."

They both turned and found Amy sneaking into the room. Somehow they hadn't even realized she had arrived at the pancakes' plate.

She outlined a shy smile and took it up, "I don't want to interrupt your conversation. I- I'll just take these and leave you on your own," she declared while searching for a fork.

Neither of the two men had the time to answer back a word however, as she quickly disappeared back into the aisle.

They remain speechless for a little while more, until Leonard urged for clarifications. "I just don't understand. Why are you doing that? It seems as if you are wanting to remain here as long as possible."

"This is simply absurd," Sheldon tried to dismiss. "There's no rational reason why I shouldn't want to return to a peaceful daily life in my own apartment. Are you sure _you_ aren't the one who would like me to stay a little longer, since deep down you miss living with me?"

" _Me_?!" Leonard shouted back, with a sudden raise of tone, "How?! Do you seriously think I missed your cleaning inspections and emergency drills?"

Of course, Sheldon didn't get the sarcasm, "Well, _yes_? I did miss those."

Leonard snorted, "I didn't! Oh, and on top of all, you returned puberty in full effect! Tell me Sheldon, is there a room or surface you and Amy didn't have sex?"

"This simply doesn't make sense. First, I hit puberty when I was 15," Sheldon pointed out, "Second, it is incorrect to state we had coitus indiscriminately on every surface. We only did it in our bed. And in the bathtub. And on the couch. And here on this table, but in my defense it was induced by one of those alluring dresses your wife had Amy buying."

"Whaat- What?!" Leonard exclaimed. He tried to articulate something, but Penny had entered the kitchen in that very moment, heading toward the refrigerator.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt. I met Amy outside the bedroom and we are having pancakes. We need syrup," she said, retrieving the bottle.

"By the way, I definitely won't eat on there like, never again," she added then, pointing at the table, before leaving.

"Her loss," Sheldon shrugged. "Of course I perfectly cleaned and disinfected all after coitus. We are not animals."

Several different possible answers occurred to Leonard, but none of them was really polite, and all included references to Animal Planet. "Sheldon, do you realize that you two are guests in here, right?" He eventually resolved to say.

"Guests? We paid you our half for the month!" Sheldon protested.

Leonard suddenly understood why his wife rolled her eyes so often. He really would love to do that now, seeming the only possible response in the context that didn't involve violence or swearing.

"This doesn't mean that- What again?!" He ended up yelling to Amy and Penny, who were approaching the kitchen again.

"We need napkins…" Amy tentatively said.

"You can just have breakfast here. We're done." Leonard drily announced, storming out.

ii.

"Hi guys…"

As the entrance door opened, Amy timidly peeked and greeted the Hofstadters. Ever since Leonard's outburst that morning, the two couples hadn't met yet, and she wasn't sure of Leonard's mood at the moment. She also felt a bit of guilt as well. Sure, Sheldon had been the kind of annoying roommate he was used to be, but they were together in doing all those other inappropriate things around the house.

Penny smiled to her and, much to Amy's relief, so did Leonard.

"We bought dinner," Amy announced as she entered the apartment. Sheldon silently followed her, showing up the boxes along with an unusual repented face.

"Oh, it does smell good!" Penny thanked them, standing to gather the food from Sheldon.

"We also have apologies for you," Amy continued. She looked at Sheldon, and he could just nod in agreement.

"Yes. We are sorry if our permanence here caused some...uhm, trouble." He saw Leonard's eyebrow move, but also his face turn into a comprehensive smile.

"You will be happy to know also that we talked to the landlord and he told us that, despite any _inconvenience_ occurred, the apartment is ready. We will move back tomorrow."

"Oh…" Leonard only said in response to him. He was surprised by his own reaction. It was exactly what he was wanting the second after they had entered his apartment asking for hospitality. A thought crept in his mind, but he didn't would allow it to come out. He could not possibly think to ever miss living with Sheldon Lee Cooper.

They set up for dinner, and everyone took their seat. Amy threw a look to Sheldon, who just like Leonard had been oddly quiet in the last few minutes.

"So, the cohabitation is ending," Penny tried to break the silence, "I have to admit it, it ended up being much more interesting that I expected it to be."

The other three nodded. Indeed, it was ending. Sheldon felt it was the moment to be completely honest with them.

"Leonard… I do owe you further apologies. I admit I have acted in these last days with the purpose of delaying this day," he confessed.

Leonard smiled. It didn't happen often, but he knew how to recognize true, heart-felt apologies from his odd friend.

"It's okay," Leonard accepted his apology, "It's just… I thought you liked living on your own with Amy."

Sheldon turned to Amy, and she nodded. She knew he did indeed; but she also knew how much he loved his friends and the years spent with him.

"I do. I also liked living with you, though. I mean, I was with Amy and with you guys. It was funny, wasn't it?"

Leonard sighed, and everyone thought he looked almost moved, "Well… it was," he couldn't avoid to grin. After all, some of the events occurred during the cohabitation were so absolutely absurd and unpredictable by the time they first lived together. "But hey, it's not like you're going anywhere far," he continued, "I mean, you guys are merely a few meters away."

"I- I think I need to apologize to you guys as well," Amy added. "With all the troubles that occurred with four people living in a single place, my presence led to some kind of embarrassing situations." She blushed, and everyone else in the room thought that it was sweet she could still blush like that considering what she was excusing herself for. She paused a moment, then went on. "It's just… it's all new to us, you know. And we were used to being on our own, experimenting and all... it has been a little tricky to adjust."

Penny's grin grew bigger than ever, "Oh Ames. You know it, after all I'm so proud of you guys."

Amy could only blush harder, as Sheldon looked around a little confused. Leonard smiled along. With all the inconveniences that it has brought, he was just as happy as Penny to witness their friends finally fully embracing the physical aspect of their relationship. Even if this had meant no discretion at all.

"I would like to propose a toast," Leonard offered. His wife and friends agreed, and everyone took their glass of wine or milk.

"To us," He proclaimed, "To friendship, to love, and to broken pipes!"

iii.

It had followed a very pleasant dinner for all the inhabitants of apartment 4A, made of good Chinese food and laughs. Leonard didn't remember having had such a pleasant evening in weeks. Now it was only turning out for the best, as he and Penny were just in the right mood for some sexy time. Kissing and holding his wife, Leonard for a while felt very satisfied.

"Wait a moment."

Suddenly, Penny had stopped moving. "Did you hear that?"

Leonard shook his head. He didn't, and honestly he didn't care. He really just wanted to make love to his wife and close the nice evening well.

Except that now he heard something as well. He asked Penny to stay quiet, and tried to understand if the sound came from the adjacent room. When he understood it wasn't, he looked back to Penny, worried.

"What do you think it is?" She whispered.

"Do- do you think someone had broke in?"

The pure bliss was quickly becoming fear. Leonard gulped, praying Penny would not ask him to go check.

Luckily for him, she had already stood and was looking for her baseball bat.

"Be careful," he recommended to her when she left the room.

iv.

Having solemnly promised to be as quiet as possible in case of coitus, Amy and Sheldon were enjoying a quiet, yet just as passionate, preliminary make-out session. They hadn't explicitly stated it, but both of them were determined their last night in there to be remarkable.

Sadly, Amy couldn't fully appreciate Sheldon's hand finally finding its way under her nightgown. She froze, hearing a thud from the outside. She reluctantly stopped him and raised her head a little bit with the hope of hearing the noise again.

"Did you hear that?" She asked Sheldon.

"No, I don't," he lied "And in any case it's most likely just Leonard and Penny. Don't worry about that."

She nodded, even if not completely sure about his explanation. He crushed back on her lips, and Amy could only try to forget about it.

"Guys, hurry! In the kitchen".

Penny's voice echoed a few seconds after in the whole apartment.

They exchanged a brief, terrified look, as both suddenly recognized the noise: _exploding pipes._

v.

Despite the various desperate attempts to block the stream with shreds and tape, water kept pouring out from at least four different sections of the kitchen pipes. The four had given up, and plopped down almost at the same time.

Leonard spoke first, "I can't believe this is happening,"

"Maybe this building is jinxed," Penny commented.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sheldon answered back, "There's no such thing as bad luck. It's probably the whole building's plumbing that sucks."

"You called me a _pipe jinx_ ," Amy protested.

"Well, you would admit that the coincidence is odd- Ouch!" With a slap on his arm, Amy interrupted Sheldon's further observations.

"Guys, it doesn't matter who's at fault," Leonard observed. He dared to give another look to the kitchen area, the most affected by the leaks, and remembered how they had observed that soon new ones would have opened in the bedrooms as well.

He took a deep sigh, and looked at Sheldon and Amy.

"We may need to sleep at your place tonight."

 **A/N: And this is a wrap, folks! I objectively took me a little longer than expected to conclude this, but I still hope you enjoyed it and had fun. I did, picturing all this in my mind. Thank you to all of you for your support and kind words. I am my own worst judge, so every review or simple** **encouragement to keep going meant the world to me.**

 **See ya,  
Lu**


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